Federal Agent Admits Stealing $1 million
A federal agent who investigated health care fraud for the U.S. government pleaded guilty to forgery and fraud for illegally seizing more than $1 million to buy property and pay off his mortgage.
The veteran agent, Scott Gompert, worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and created fake seizure warrants with forged federal judges’ signatures to steal the money.
He used his connections and expertise as an investigator to locate bank accounts holding criminal proceedings from fraudulent activity. Then he prepared fraudulent seizure warrants with forged signatures of U.S. magistrate judges and presented them to the financial institutions to get the cash.
The banks were directed by the corrupt agent to issue a cashier’s check to what seemed like an official government account that he established for his personal use in Phoenix. In all, about $1.1 million were illegally seized during three investigations in 2005 and 2006.
Gompert used a few hundred thousand dollars to pay off his home mortgage and credit cards and to purchase real estate as well as a new car. Now he faces up to three decades in prison and a $1 million fine.
